Kansas, 2001Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Kansas, January 27 to 29, 2001
January 27 to 29, 2001 · NWS ICT · 18 events in 17 counties and zones
10 ice storm, 8 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 18 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 18
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Wichita, KS wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 27, 8:56 PM CST, 4 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 8:56 PM CST, 4 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WICHITA KS
856 PM CST SAT JAN 27 2001
...UPDATED...
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE CWA LOOKS ON TARGET FOR TNGT
INTO SUNDAY. THE 12Z MODELS VERIFIED FAIRLY WELL...ESPCLY THE
ETA...WITH REGARD TO THE THERMAL PROFILE ON AREA SOUNDINGS AT 00Z
THIS EVENING. THE NEW 00Z ETA KEEPS THE 0C ISOTHERM AT H8 ACRS THE
ICT AREA INTO MIDDAY SUNDAY...SUPPORTING LIQUID PCPN GENLY ALG/E OF
THE KS TURNPIKE...AND PRIMARILY SNOW TO THE W AND NW OF ICT. CURNT
RADAR TRENDS ALSO DEPICT THE PHASE CHG FAIRLY WELL ACRS THE CWA.
THE MAIN CONCERN IS MODIFICATION OF THE NR SFC AIR ACRS SERN KS AS
DETERMINANT FOR FZRA. SFC DWPTS CONT TO JUMP ACRS ERN OKLA THIS
EVE...WHERE INVERTED SFC TROF IS DVLPG. XPCT AREAS TO THE N/NW OF
SFC TROF ACRS SERN KS WL CONT A0B 32F DURG THE NGT. THUS XPCT FZRA
TO RESULT IN SOME ICE ACCUM...WITH THE BEST LIKELIHOOD FOR THE MORE
SIGNIFICANT ICING TO RESIDE ACRS THE FLINT HILLS JUST E OF THE
TURNPIKE. THE SERN MOST COUNTIES WL LIKELY WARM INTO THE MID 30S
DURG SUNDAY...ENDING THE ADDTNL ICE THREAT...HOWEVER AREAS OF THE
FLINT HILLS MAY STILL CONT TO ACCUM SOME ICE.
FOR AREAS JUST W OF THE TURNPIKE...INCLUDING GREATER WICHITA...XPCT
THE SNOW/MIXED PCPN WL ALSO BCM PRIMARILY FZRA AFT MDNGT AND THRU
SUNDAY MRNG. THE PCPN SHOULD STAY PRIMARILY SNOW JUST NW OF ICT ACRS
THE REST OF CNTRL KS...INCLUDING HUTCHINSON...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY
ACCUM POSBL FM HUT NW INTO THE GBD/RSL AND SLN AREAS.
OVRALL...THE GOING FCST LOOKS VRY GOOD...SO ONLY MINOR TWEAKS ARE
ANTICIPATED FOR THE EVENING UPDATE.
DARMOFAL
.ICT...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY ENTIRE CWA
K.SZ032-033...KSZ047-053...KSZ067>072...KSZ082-083... KSZ091>096
KSZ098-100.
Heavy Snow, Russell
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Russell forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.915, -98.762 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A large and very potent winter storm lifting northeast from the 4-corners region affected Kansas from the night of the 27th thru the early morning of the 29th. The storm buried much of central Kansas with heavy snow as accumulations ranged from 6 to 14 inches. Hardest hit were Russell, Ellsworth, and Barton counties where 12-14 inches accumulated, closing most highways. Accumulations of 6-8 inches were common across Lincoln, Saline, Rice, McPherson and Reno counties.
Heavy Snow, Lincoln
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lincoln forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 39.045, -98.208 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Barton
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Barton forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.479, -98.756 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Ellsworth
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Ellsworth forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.697, -98.205 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Saline
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Saline forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.784, -97.650 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Rice
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Rice forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.347, -98.201 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, McPherson
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- McPherson forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.392, -97.648 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Reno
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Reno forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.953, -98.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Marion
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Marion forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.359, -97.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The same winter storm that was responsible for burying much of central Kansas with 6-14 inches of snow wreaked havoc across south-central Kansas as well. Widespread sleet and freezing rain, resulting in ice accumulations of 1/2 to 3/4 inch, made travel treacherous across most of the region. Sleet reached depths around 1 inch across Cowley County. The mixture of sleet and freezing rain resulted in spotty power outages. The situation was compounded by a prolonged period of light to moderate snow which accumulated to as much as 2-4 inches.
Ice Storm, Reno
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Reno forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.953, -98.086 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Harvey
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Harvey forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 38.043, -97.427 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Butler
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Butler forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.781, -96.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Greenwood
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Greenwood forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.878, -96.233 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Kingman
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Kingman forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.559, -98.136 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Sedgwick
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Sedgwick forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.685, -97.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Harper
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Harper forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.192, -98.075 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Sumner
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Sumner forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.237, -97.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Cowley
- When
- January 27, 9:00 PM CST to January 29, 3:00 AM CST
- Where
- Cowley forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.238, -96.837 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Winter Storm in New Mexico, January 27 to 28, 20012 deaths · 9 events
- Winter Storm in Texas, January 27 to 28, 2001$250,000 · 24 events
- Heavy Snow in Kansas, January 27 to 28, 200127 events
- Winter Storm in Kansas, January 27 to 29, 200123 events
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, January 27, 2001$25,000 · 1 event
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Texas, January 27 to 28, 200120 events
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 27, 2001$20,000 · 1 event
- Winter Storm in Kansas, January 27 to 28, 200113 events
- Strong Wind in Virginia, January 27, 200112 events
- Strong Wind in Maryland, January 27, 200111 events
- Strong Wind and Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 27, 20019 events
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 27 to 28, 200168 kt wind · 4 events
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5228881, 5228882, 5228883, 5228884, 5228885, 5228886, 5228887, 5228888, 5228889, 5228890, 5228891, 5228892, 5228893, 5228894, 5228895, 5228896, 5228897, 5228898.